While driving in a stormy night on a lonely road in the countryside, Philip Waverton (Raymond Massey),his wife Margaret (Gloria Stuart),and Roger Penderel (Melvyn Douglas) seek shelter at a creepy old house. Horace (Ernest Thesiger) and his sister Rebecca Femm (Eva Moore) are reluctant but receive the travelers and warn that the butler Morgan (Boris Karloff) is a dangerous man when he drinks. When they have dinner, a man called Sir William Porterhouse (Charles Laughton) arrives in the house with his girlfriend Gladys DuCane (Lilian Bond) seeking shelter. Out of the blue, the light goes out and they split to get candles and lamps, while Roger and Gladys go to the car to get a bottle of whiskey. While they drink and talk together, the drunken Morgan attacks Margaret and Philip along a most unusual and bizarre night.

The Pre-Code "The Old Dark House" is a comedy horror film ahead of time in the style of "Haunted Honeymoon", "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" or "Young Frankenstein". There are funny (and also silly) moments and Roger falling in love and proposing the gold-digger Gladys is too naive. But the scenes in the car with the heavy storm are impressive. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Casa Sinistra" ("The Sinister House")

This movie looks really great. The studio did a fantastic job of creating a really eerie mood--with a great tomb-like home and decent storm effects throughout the film. So the mood was certainly right for the film. However, despite being a very creepy film, poor acting and occasionally stupid moments in the plot make this only a passable thriller.

As far as acting goes, the worst job was done by Charles Laughton. He was supposed to play a common working stiff who made good. But someone needed to tell him that to seem common you do not need to speak your lines at twice the normal volume. This is one of his earliest films and you can see he has a bit to learn. Also, inexplicably, at times Melvin Douglas' voice keeps cracking like he's in the throes of puberty. I really can't understand why.

Now all the acting wasn't so poor. Ernest Thesiger carried the movie with his creepy and appropriate acting--he gives you the willies all by himself. And the rest of the cast was fine as well.

Plot-wise, the movie just didn't make sense. Okay, you've got a homicidal arsonist locked in an upstairs room. So, you apparently hire a guy to watch him who is prone to getting drunk and trying to kill people himself?! Huh? And, the next day after these two maniacs ran about the home trying to kill everyone, you bid everyone goodbye with a smile on your face??!! Also, for some odd reason, some idiot thought that having Melvin Douglas instantly fall in love with Laughton's lady friend made sense. Well, this occurs so quickly and inexplicably that it doesn't.

So how, despite these problems, does the film STILL merit a 6? Well, most of it is due to the general creepiness of the film. Despite plot holes and occasional over-acting, the film is just plain scary and creepy throughout.

For a cast as great on paper as The Old Dark House and that it's directed by James Whale, The Old Dark House promised much and had all the makings of a good comedy-horror. The Old Dark House was not just good, it was great. It is perhaps not as good as Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein and The Invisible Man but it is right up there. The plot admittedly is creaky and somewhat episodic, but with The Old Dark House it wasn't about the plot. And because the atmosphere, visuals, script and cast were so good it is easy to ignore any misgivings you have on the story. The costumes and sets are very Gothic and look truly beautiful, and the photography is crisp. The music is appropriately haunting, any sound effects add to the ghoulish feel to the film and the atmosphere is genuinely creepy. James Whale directs with a security for comedy and horror, and succeeds in making the characters colourful and allowing the cast to enjoy themselves. There is lots of black humour in The Old Dark House, and especially with the Femms you have a ball chuckling at the very least at what you're hearing. And the horror elements are deliciously ghoulish, nothing noticeably predictable. The film is only about 70 or so minutes long, but crams so much in and makes everything work without feeling rushed through, which is a great achievement. The cast are just splendid, Ernest Thesiger steals the show in a brilliantly creepy performance as a very effeminate character. Though magnificently terrifying Boris Karloff, ravishingly beautiful Gloria Stuart and hilariously aggressive Eva Moore come very close and they do match him in how much they make an impression in this film. Melvyn Douglas does suave and puzzled to a tee, Charles Laughton does overdo it but looks as though he's having the time of his life, Raymond Massey is a lot of fun and Brember Wills' speech likening fire to cold blades is enough to creep anybody out. Elspeth Dudgeon's patriarch portrayal is unconvincing though. To conclude, delicious, highly atmospheric, wonderfully written and acted and most of all fun. 9/10 Bethany Cox